15 October: International Day of Rural Women

International Day of Rural Women is held annually on 15 October. The United Nations declared its first International Day of Rural Women on 18 December 2007 to commence in 2008.

Rural women comprise over a quarter of the total world population. In developing countries, rural women represent approximately 43% of the agricultural labour force, and produce, process, and prepare much of the food available. In addition, 76% of the extreme poor across the world live in rural areas. This means that rural women contribute to decreasing world hunger and poverty through their work on rural farms and agricultural lands.

The 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) include a core goal for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and to target ‘double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers.’ International Day of Rural Women recognizes the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural community development, improving food security, and eradicating rural poverty.

http://www.un.org/en/events/ruralwomenday/

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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